Processing & Design Data dialog
This dialog allows you to define the processing condition values for the selected material.
Melt temperature: the temperature of the molten plastic, or melt, as it starts to flow into the cavity. For Thermoplastics, the melt temperature cannot be lower than the Transition temperature.
Mold wall temperature: the temperature of the mold that the molten plastic is injected into. For Thermoplastics, the mold temperature cannot be higher than the ejection temperature.
Melt Temperature Range: the range of melt temperatures suitable for the material.
Mold Wall Temperature Range: the range of mold wall temperatures suitable for the material.
Thermoplastic specific inputs
Absolute Maximum Melt Temperature: the absolute maximum temperature recommended for the material melt process settings. Processing at this temperature may require special precautions and reduced residence times. Refer to the current resin manufacturer processing specifications for more detailed advice on processing temperatures.
Maximum Shear Information: contains data about shear rates and stresses. You can use generic data or type in the relevant data yourself:
- Generic Data: the recommended data values associated with the Family Abbreviation and Filler information that you specified in the General Information dialog will be used.
- Input Raw Data: allows entry of information for this material record.
Maximum Shear Rate: the maximum shear rate for the material beyond which material degradation starts to occur. Tip: After an analysis is complete, you can check the resultant shear rate against this value to determine whether shear rate is acceptable in your design.
Maximum Shear Stress: the maximum shear stress for the material beyond which material degradation starts to occur. Tip: After an analysis is complete, you can check the resultant shear stress against this value to determine whether shear stress is acceptable in your design.
Transition Temperature Information: Specifies the polymer freeze temperature at which the melt-to-solid transition occurs. Also contains information about the source, creation method and date of the data. The transition temperature corresponds to the glass-transition temperature (Tg) for amorphous materials and to the crystallization temperature (Tc) for semi-crystalline polymers.
Ejection Temperature Information: the temperature at which a material is rigid enough to withstand ejection without permanent deformation or severe marking from the mold ejector pins. The value must be between -100°C and 500°C.
Thermoset specific inputs
Ejection conversion: the degree of cure at which the part should be ejected from the mold. Often this is not a measured property, so a default value of 0.8 will be applied when first entering this dialog. This value should be higher than the Gelation Conversion shown in the Reactive Viscosity Model dialog.
Gel Time (Optional): The time taken for a thermosetting material to transition from a liquid or viscous state to a gel-like state. The Gel Time and Gel Time Temperature are used to calculate the Gelation Conversion in the Reactive Viscosity Model, so if these are not supplied then a default value will be used.
Gel Time Temperature (Optional): The temperature at which the Gel Time was measured. The Gel Time and Gel Time Temperature are used to calculate the Gelation Conversion in the Reactive Viscosity Model, so if these are not supplied then a default value will be used.
Uncured Density: the density of the material prior to any curing. This allows the uncured density to be manually specified instead of being calculated from the uncured pvt curve.
Cured Density: The density of the material after it has been fully cured. This allows the cured density to be manually specified instead of being calculated from the cured pvt curve.